Cover: Ethnic and Racial Differences in Long-Term Survival from Hospitalization for HIV Infection

Ethnic and Racial Differences in Long-Term Survival from Hospitalization for HIV Infection

Published in: Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, v. 11, no. 2, 2000, p. 163-178

Posted on RAND.org on January 01, 2000

by William Cunningham, David M. Mosen, Leo S. Morales, Ronald Andersen, Martin F. Shapiro, Ron D. Hays

This prospective cohort study compares 200 hospitalized, HIV-infected patients (Hispanic, African American, and white) from May 1992 to October 1998 to assess mortality (versus survival) over 75 months of follow-up. The relative risk of six-year mortality for each ethnic group is compared using Cox proportional hazards models after controlling for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, access to general medical care, and HIV-specific treatment. The median survival of Hispanics (15.5 months) was significantly (p < 0.05) shorter than that of whites (23.8); survival for African Americans (35.1) did not differ from whites. In multivariate analysis, the adjusted relative risk of six-year mortality for Hispanics compared with whites was 2.14 (95 percent confidence interval = 1.26-3.66). The poor outcomes of Hispanics was not explained by access to general care or by HIV-specific treatment.

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